Mystery woman found wandering in Dublin identified as Australian: reports

Irish police have reportedly identified a woman found wandering the streets of Dublin as a 19-year-old Australian.

The woman was found on O'Connell Street in the Irish capital on October 10 in a distressed state, according to the Irish National Police Service.

She has since been taken into the care of the country's Health Service Executive (HSE) while the police worked to try and identify her.

The investigation has so far involved several government agencies, including Interpol, and "over 2,000 man hours, and over 115 lines of enquiry".

Yesterday the Irish police released a photo of the woman - who was initially thought to be a minor - along with a description, in the hope of identifying her.

According to a statement on the Irish police website, the woman is 168cm in height, of slim build, with long, blonde hair, and was found wearing clothes thought to have been purchased in Ireland, including a purple, hooded top, tight, dark-coloured jeans, flat, black shoes and a grey, woollen jumper.

She had been fitted with braces on her teeth, police said, although they had not been able to establish where they were fitted after contacting paediatric orthodontists across Ireland.

"Maybe she got treatment in another jurisdiction so we’re hoping some professional might come forward and say they treated the child," the Irish Times quoted Superintendent David Taylor as saying.

There are reports a family member or friend of the woman called to identify her as being an Australian, and some reports identify her as Samantha.

There have also been reports she is from Queensland, and that she may have come into contact with authorities there before.

In a statement released on Tuesday night, Irish police said they would "be liaising closely with the Australian Police ... to finalise the matter".

A spokesman for the Australian Federal Police said they would likely have no further details on the case until Wednesday morning Irish time.

The Department of Foreign Affairs says the case is "a matter for police authorities in Ireland and Australia".

The duty editor with News Talk Radio in Dublin, Tara Duggan, cited the Irish media as reporting that the woman had spoken very little English to authorities but drawn disturbing pictures in an attempt to communicate.

"She did begin communicating with authorities but by drawing pictures and these pictures presented rather disturbing images for Irish authorities," Duggan said.

"Without being too graphic about it, she was depicting images that showed her on a bed surrounded by a number of men and money exchanging hands.

"The feeling really was very genuine within the authorities amongst Gardai [police] and the health professionals who've been caring for this girl that she was probably of Eastern European origin and was probably the victim of sex trafficking."

However, large parts of Irish media are reporting that police no longer believe that is a viable line of inquiry.

According to the Times, the HSE opposed the release of the woman's picture on the basis that it could have "a disturbing effect on her".

However, Superintendent Taylor was quoted as saying they did so only after extensive investigations had failed to identify her.

"The child's welfare is paramount. We don't take [releasing the photo] lightly," he said.